Quito Attractions

I would have never thought about looking elsewhere from the nearby New Bask Hostel, a long time favourite of mine on regular weekend trips to Quito. This all changed after making a very important reservation only to be told upon arriving that they had in fact cancelled our reservation as other travellers had turned up earlier. It seems a reservation is just a posh word for 'first come, first served.' Like a girlfriend who has cheated on you, a new hostel was sort after and that's where Sunrise Hostal comes into the equation.

The hostel is located right in the heart of 'Gringo Landia' in La Mariscal with clubs, bars and restaurants a stones throw away in every direction. Even with a huge sign poking out above the door, it's still easy to miss if not looking skywards. The narrow hallway filled with backpacker information and volunteer opportunities leads you up to the reception, passing two secure doors.

The owner, a cheerful gentleman can always be heard apologising profusely to his guests for the Gothic, pot smoking clientele that like to hang out up and down the street outside, waiting for the club opposite to open.

Depending on the room given to you, each comes with a number of positives and negatives. A positive for all double rooms is that they all contain a single bed alongside the double bed. Rooms 3, 7 and 8 don't come with a TV, towels or that all important soap and have shared bathroom. All others have these luxuries. Room 4 is the best in my opinion, both spacious and en-suite private bathroom, with cable TV to boot.

Noise is a serious problem, especially at weekends and in the front rooms. Room 5 also opens onto the dining area next to the kitchen and with only a stained glass window protecting your naked modesty, you sometimes feel like being part of a peep show to the chatting strangers outside. The rooms could do with a little refurbishment and some of the showers seem to be slightly blocked side as well. Saying all of this though, for the price, location and if only using the hostel as a place to crash, then this place is perfect, safe and reliable.

With only eight rooms, some taken permanently by resident guests, booking ahead especially at weekends is recommended. These long-term guests, usually found sitting in the lounge area next to the reception provide a wealth of information about Quito.

Hot water is available, although sometimes a little on the tepid side. Laundry services are also available for a small fee. The kitchen area and breakfast bar can be used and for an extra supplement ($2 per person) breakfast can be included. All of this in the countries capital isn't bad for between $6 and $8 a night depending on the chosen room. More information can be found by contacting Sunrise on 02-252-6189.

Upon visiting the overcrowded tourist attraction of Mitad del Mundo, a celebration marking the equator, I certainly felt cheated after paying the $2 entrance fee and finding it to be a lie, a good 250 metres off the exact spot. Nowadays it's more of a monument to Charles-Marie de la Condamine and his 1736-1744 Geodesic Mission. It's amazing how close he managed to get with such limited technology. Thanks to GPS technology though a new attraction has arrived, Museo Inti-Nan, claiming to be located directly on the equator.

After paying the very reasonable $3 entry fee you are given the choice of guided tours in both Spanish and English, where you get to experience a number of equatorial related experiments all of which fascinatingly work. Such experiments include the well documented water down the plug hole, strength tests, balancing an egg on the end of a nail and trying to walk down the equator with eyes closed, looking like a drunkard in the process. It really surprised the differences witnessed in carrying out these experiments on the equator and just one metre either side. It is an eerily strange spectacle.

This isn't all you get for your entrance fee. Alongside these experiments is a wealth of other attractions including a 19th century solar chronometer (quite fascinating if this tickles your fancy!) and a tour through a small selection of Ecuadorian history and heritage where traditional burial sights, houses, and the joyous process of shrinking heads can be viewed. The latter is till carried out in some jungle tribes, but today, thanks to Ecuadorian law it is the head of the poor defenceless sloth and not that of a human which is used. The best part for me though was actually having the chance of shooting a blow pipe, something I failed to participate in while on an earlier trip to the jungle. My once proud lungs and feeble strength failed combined to ruin any chance I had in shooting the arrow tipped dart into a cactus pad 12ft away.

I can not recommend this museum highly enough, especially over its more illustrious neighbour Mitad del Mundo. Visiting from Quito couldn't be easier. If travelling from the main gringo haunt of the La Mariscal district, walk up Avenida Colon to the intersection with Avenida Americas and catch a blue bus going north to the end of the line ($0.25), just past Casa Blanca football stadium on your left hand side, home of LDU de Quito. Here green buses to Mitad del Mundo ($0.15) leave every 10 minutes. The journey takes 40 minutes in total. Getting back you can catch any of the passing Otavalo buses returning to Quito ($0.50).

Once at Mitad del Mundo walk to your right for two minutes to reach Museo Inti-Nan. For more information you can view their website at www.museointinan.com.ec, email them on museo_intinan@yahoo.es or phone on either +593-2-2395122 or +593-09-730-9508.

Mitad del Mundo, or Middle of the World for those that don’t speak Spanish is one of Quito’s premiere attractions. Located approximately 20km north of the capital on the road to Otavalo and easily accessible for tourists and locals alike, you can understand why; not many people get to stand with one foot on each side of the world, the equator running straight through them. How could anyone turn down such a chance to impress their friends back home?

In reality, Mitad del Mundo and its focal point, a pyramidal 40ft. monument to the Equator doesn’t lie on the Equator at all. It lies a good 250 metres away, which was recently proven via GPS. I already knew this when visiting, but from watching the numerous tourists hop-scotching across the ‘Equator line’, they were oblivious to the fact.

With the news quickly spreading of its location ‘next’ to the Equator rather than on it, the monument is now nothing more than a show of appreciation to Charles Marie de La Condamine, who attempted to locate the Equator in the early 1700’s. If this news comes as a disappointment then at least there are numerous other attractions located within the same complex to keep you occupied and entertained. Alongside various ‘Disneyfied’ souvenir shops and restaurants, regular live music acts perform, making for a perfect lazy Sunday afternoon if the weather is good.

There is also the Museo Etnografico Mitad del Mundo, which details the ethnic make-up of Ecuador. Interesting as it is, virtually every other museum in the country has a similar display.

Other attractions include the astronomical museum, a miniature replica of Quito’s old town and a post office where you can get the famous Mitad del Mundo stamp mark on your postcards. Sadly, apart from the indigenous live music acts, nothing was able to hold my attention span for too long.

While I felt let down that this attraction doesn’t lie on the Equator at all, located next door is Museo Inti-Nan, which does lie on the Equator. With a range of equator related experiments Museo Inti-Nan should be the first port of call for anyone venturing towards Mitad del Mundo and who would like to stand on the real equator.

One positive of Mitad del Mundo is that it does host a few major festivals, the best of which fall around the March 21st and September 23rd equinoxes, when neither monument nor tourist casts a shadow.

Mitad del Mundo is open year round, from 9am. Closing time depends on the time of year, and what festivals are taking place. On a normal day though expect sunset (6pm) to be the normal closing time. Entrance costs $2. Numerous public buses travel here from Avenida Americas ($0.40). Buses heading towards Otavalo will also take you if not busy, although expect to pay slightly more. More information on Mitad del Mundo can be found at http://www.mitaddelmundo.com/.